The purpose of this blog is to explore cross-cultural Saudi/non-Saudi relationships and their broader Arab-Muslim/Western contexts, as well as the background for improving understanding across these cultures.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

À la recherche d’une iqama/In search of an iqama

By Chiara

An example of an Iqama or residency visa (not Sid Ahmed's)
Un exemplaire d'une Iqama ou visa de résident(e) (pas celle de Sid Ahmed)This post is a little different because it is written in English and French in order both to allow the subject to express himself in his own language, and to hopefully help other Francophone non-Saudis in search of information on marriage to a Saudi and the spousal iqama. Ce post diffère un peu des autres car il est rédigé en anglais et en français afin de permettre au sujet de s’exprimer dans sa propre langue, aussi bien que dans l’espérance d’aider d’autres étrangers francophones à la recherche de renseignements sur le mariage à un Saoudien ou à une Saoudienne, et sur l’iqama conjugale.

Sid Ahmed, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, graciously accepted my invitation to share his story of marrying a Saudi wife, in the hopes of inspiring others and receiving further help himself. His story follows in his own words with my translation to English.

My story begins with the tragedy that was the death of my first wife (Allah y rhamha). This marriage had produced 2 magnificent children, Mashallal. Suddenly, I understood the immensity of the role of a wife and mother in a home, even though I was aware if it previously. Nonetheless, the fact of finding myself in this type of situation only reinforced this feeling. Many fail to realize the happiness they have before them. As for me, I consider a woman as the light and soul of a home, and when she disappears you lose all sense of orientation.

During her final moments, my wife showed exemplary courage in saying to me, “Take care of yourself and the children. I have been happy with you, but the time has come for me to leave. So, go live where you will be happy, as the children will be happy there too. Take the time for grieving, and then remarry.

My children have a great deal of love for their mother and for me, as their mother was loving like that. In fact, in the difficult travail that I lived, and that I continue to live, my children have remained very loving. They understand the meaning of life, of death, and of destiny. They are very advanced for their young ages. They understood well their mommy’s death and know that a man can not live without a wife, and that they too cannot live without “a beautiful mommy”, as they say [“une belle maman”, a beautiful mommy, as opposed to “une belle-mère”, a stepmother]. And to tell you the truth, it was they who pushed and motivated me to remarry.

Al hamdulillah, my faith in Allah allowed me to get on top of this painful travail, and to tell myself that life continued, and that I must take care of my children and myself. From that noble sentiment, some Saudi friends, saddened by my situation, came forward with the proposal to present one of the women from their family to me, with a view towards marriage. After a period of reflection, I agreed.

At first, we had contact by telephone, and have continued to communicate by internet. The exchanges were constructive. We had ideas in common on the views we held about life as a couple; and little by little ties between us grew. However, there were still obstacles to overcome; and first of all, that of her father’s agreement to our eventual marriage.

This was accomplished through the efforts of the family, who took it upon themselves to explain the situation. To my great surprise, both father and mother agreed in principle. It only remained for me then to go to Saudi Arabia in order for us to get to know each other, and to take care of the customary matters, that is, the conditions and the dowry.

First challenge!--With a lot of obstinacy, and some connections, I was able to obtain a 6-month business visa. What happiness! I went to Saudi Arabia where I was able to meet my intended and her family, and agree to the marriage.

Second challenge!--Now, it was necessary to obtain the authorization of the Saudi authorities; and there I was to discover the complexity of the situation. Faithful to my nature, I persisted, and with the help of my Saudi friends, I submitted my file in person to the Ministry of the Interior. At the end of a month, as the “lejna” council only meets once a month, I received a positive response which was transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I succeeded in obtaining a copy--again through the efforts of my Saudi friends who played a key role in this whole affair.

Third challenge!--Strengthened by this approval, I thought to myself that the marriage act itself was just a formality. On the contrary, I again ran into another administration demand for an iqama, as I needed an iqama in order to obtain the police document allowing me to take the required prenuptial blood tests! I went there with my future father-in-law, and there we insisted so much that the person responsible called his superior to explain our situation. The latter, I don’t know how, perhaps out of desperation, finally agreed to give us the famous paper that would allow me to go to the hospital and have the necessary blood tests done.

Fourth challenge!--I went to the hospital to do the blood tests, and there again, I was asked for an iquama. Still as stubborn as usual, I forced myself to tell them that I had a document from the police authorizing this medical act. As always, without knowing the why or the wherefore, I was able to convince them. I had to wait 10 days to get the results, which happily were favourable. Al hamdulillah, I had just won another battle.

Fifth challenge!--Emboldened by my authorization and my results, it only remained for me to make an appointment with a judge in order to legalize and make official the marriage. There again, in order to create a file it was necessary to have an iqama. Still as determined as ever, and with the aid of my future father-in-law whom I wish to honour for his efforts, we were able to obtain an appointment at the makhama “City Hall”. And there, after a long wait, we were presented before a judge who was in the middle of reviewing our file. He asked me if I had an iqama, and I told him no. I still don’t know why, but again after a moment’s reflection he explained our rights and obligations to us, and asked each party what the conditions of marriage were, and if the dowry had been settled. With the witnesses present, the judge accepted our union, and there we were, officially married. What happiness!

Sixth challenge!--So then, armed with a marriage certificate, I said to myself that I would have no problem obtaining an iqama. Therefore, without a worry, euphoric, and in a hurry, I rented an apartment and furnished it, in order to settle there with my wife and my children. When I was still in Saudi Arabia, I was led to believe that with this marriage file sent to the Embassy in Paris, I would be able to obtain a family visa, then return to Riyadh to get an iqama. To my great surprise, on returning to France I learned that I had been misinformed, and that in fact I could not obtain this famous “open sesame” that is the iqama, in the manner and with the documents that had been indicated to me.

You know, on reflection I understood that in my story the «I don’t know why» was the will of Allah who wished to facilitate my efforts. All praise and thanks come back to Allah, as all was against me, evidence of the immensity of His will.

This is my story, one that I wanted to share with you. My sincerest thanks, Chiara.

Salam ahlaykoum.
Sid Ahmed

Salam ahlaykoum
Sid Ahmed

Here is a summary of the recommendations to speed up the process of obtaining a spousal iqama,

1. Write a kitab (Request letter to grant permission for Iqama for your husband or wife) c/o to Prince Ahmad Naib.
2. Submit application with rest of the doc's in the MOI head office in Riyadh
3. Within 10 days IA you will get the positive feedback. System is getting better in this country.
4. Finally fulfilled rest of the formalities for IQAMA from jawazaat.
5. Always keep positive faith, do your best to leave the rest on Allah
6. See the other posts on this blog under the keyword iqama at the right of the screen

1) a letter to the Minister requesting an iqama for her husband to accompany her in the country as a mahrem (legal male guardian)
2) a copy of the marriage permit
3) a copy of the marriage contract
4) a copy of the Saudi wife’s ID
5) a copy of the husband’s passport

7 comments:

Puça
said...

He's sorted out all challenges, so for sure he will again, hope someone helps him to ormulate the kitab.Despite all, he's been lucky in his life, so just persist and you'll get it!September 11, 2009 5:46 PM

While I don't personally have much experience addressing Saudi princes formally (most of my meetings with them have been in very informal settings, at university or at a comedy show), I would assume that you will be having this letter translated to Arabic before being sent.

I would suggest having an Arabic speaker, preferably someone with local knowledge, to formulate the letter for you without the translating step. I would also suggest keeping it first person to add a personal touch, since you are asking for favor and not through a government process.

Again, I don't know how this would translate directly into formal Arabic but I'll try to shoot with an outline. I have asked some Saudi friends for help so hopefully I'll get a response on whether there is a better way to deal with this.

To Amir Ahmad Naib (full name)

Your Royal Highness,

I am [full name], and I write to you asking you're favor regarding my residence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

[Brief outline of story: You've married a Saudi national, have all approvals and support from family, government, judges].

I am now applying for an Iqama so that me and my children can live with my wife and our newfound family. As you are aware, obtaining this permit is not very easy for a foreigner not arriving for employment, and I humbly request your favor in initiating this process.

Your Servant,...

Again, there is a lot of 'padding' that must be put in. Arabic letters have a lot of formalities and it is very unlikely that english greetings will cross the language barrier too easily.September 12, 2009 12:31 AM

You can obtain a "free visa" that allows you to come into Saudi Arabia without the need of a sponsor (but these tend to be expensive).

Another option is to come under a paid sponsor. These will handle the necessary paperwork for you and you will arrive under the title of employment. A monthly fee is paid to maintain your status, however, it is important to find a good sponsor as there have been numerous stories of abuse.September 12, 2009 12:33 AM

I seem to be spamming here (sorry!), but I got a response to my questions:

[From CivilLizard , via Twitter] These issues are handled by the Ministry of Interior that has to be followed in Saudi. Royals can only give passive recommendations. The recommendation has 2b justified with specific reasons, then it hold 20% weight at the most.. the rest is the important stuff. Doesn't work well from outside the country, should be seeked by the Saudi party, not by your friend.September 12, 2009 1:15 AM

NidalM--thank you so much for your recommendations, and sample letter, as well as seeking the advice from your friends.

I would agree with your recommendation of an Arabic speaker drafting one directly into Arabic, and that the English be the translated copy, if there is need. To be legal, documents must be signed with knowledge of the content and certified, notarized translations are usually required. However, in this case since the Saudi wife is in fact the petitioner, no English copy is needed except for the husband's information. Also the letter is best addressed from her in the first person singular, "I", as she is the one asking for the conjugal Iqama for her spouse.

I also agree that rhetorically Arabic has a great many more flourishes and formalities than English, and may seem even somewhat arcane in translation, but these would be customary in such a letter.

I would amend your excellent (to my ears) sample letter, as you suggested, to read from the wife's perspective: "I am [full name] and I write to you asking your favor regarding my husband's residence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."; and, "so that my husband and his children may live with me and form a new family". It would also be important to include in the body of the letter that Sid Ahmed has his own means of support while residing in the KSA, or for someone else to state their financial circumstances (i.e. not asking for support from the state).

Your suggestions about other types of visa are helpful too, although the expensive "free visa" (free as in open or independent, I assume) is an interesting verbal twist LOL :); and you are wise to caution about being very selective with a paid sponsor.

As Mohammad, the original commentator, suggested, and Sid Ahmed is intending, this kitab would be only an adjunct to the MOI process, not sufficient unto itself. It is very good to have CivilLizard confirm this, and offer a weighting to the impact of such a letter. Still, 20% can be the difference between a pass or a fail, and a slow or a fast, so every little bit helps.

Your friend is also right imo in that it should at least seem as if the Saudi party is the author of the letter, and might be best handled by Sid Ahmed's wife with the help of her family members.

Our thanks to you and your friend, CivilLizard, and to any of the others who might contribute later. No worries about numbers or lengths of comments, Tara is very generous in such matters (luckily for me LOL :) ).

I have 2 questions of anyone: 1) Does everyone contact the same Prince, or would the Prince vary by geographical region, province, municipality;2) Does the Saudi wife write the letter or does her Saudi mahrem? or do both of them?

I look forward to any answers, and to further such excellent suggestions and comments.September 12, 2009 3:25 AM

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About Me

I am a Canadian academic of Italian origin with qualifications in medicine, psychiatry, literature, and philosophy, and interested in the cross-cultural aspects of all of these. I am married Islamically and legally to a Moroccan. I remain a Daughter of the Book.